1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information retrieval apparatus and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to present information to a user and process an action by the user with respect to the presented information, a technique called a graphical user interface (GUI) is used. A general GUI is designed such that when the user indicates an object on a window by operating a pointing device (indicating device) such as a mouse, a menu window showing a list of actions with respect the object can be displayed. When the user selects a desired item on this menu window, an action corresponding to this item is executed. A technique called a context menu in a GUI, in particular, can display a menu while limiting selectable operations in accordance with the format of target data. This allows the user to easily indicate an action.
Various techniques associated with GUIs have been proposed. For example, there is available a technique of estimating the intention of a user from the meaning of a keyword which the user has marked in a browed document and presenting a menu of items selected from a plurality of candidates in accordance with the intention of the user (see, for example, JP-A 2006-65754 (KOKAI)). According to the technique disclosed in this publication, the order of items to be presented in a menu is determined in advance.
Assume that there are many items to be presented. In this case, if an item which the user frequently selects is displayed at an unspecified low-order position in a menu, it takes time for the user to search out the desired item, resulting in complex operation. The complexity of such operation is noticeable especially when the user is to select an item from a plurality of linked menus.